Tow #17: Visual Text: "Ratchet and Clank Collection" Cover Art

On August 28th, 2012, Insomniac Games released "Ratchet and Clank Collection" for the PlayStation 3 in the United States. In this special 10th anniversary edition of the game, one disc contained the first three Ratchet and Clank games digitally remastered for the PlayStation 3, because they were all originally released on the PlayStation 2. The picture above is the cover art that was used for the inside cover of the game. Insomniac Games chose to put this picture as cover art to summarize Ratchet's, and his robot friend Clank's, journey of their first three times saving the galaxy to remind old fans of the first three games and allow new fans to get a preview of the games. This artwork is effective because it not only tells a story, but also the character development of Ratchet through the use of body language and color. From the first picture to the last picture, Ratchet goes from being fresh-faced and excited Lombax (the made-up animal that Ratchet is) to an angry, professional hero. This illustrates Ratchet's development as a character from immaturity to maturity. The body language that mainly shows Ratchet's development is his eyes. In the first game, Ratchet's eyes are wide. However, by the second game they are squinting showing that he has some unfinished business to take care of. Finally in the last picture, Ratchet's eyes and powerful stance tell the viewer that Ratchet has experienced many horrors in the world and is determined to end these horrors to save the world. Ratchet knows that his journey is much bigger than it was in the first game where his biggest problems were shooting giant guns and defeating robots in hoverboard races. The artwork also tells the story of Ratchet through the use of color. In the first game, the background is a dull blueprint that shows various weapons Ratchet learned how to use in the first game. The next picture is purple, which is still a cool color, so it does not indicate stress. However, there is a bright light in the background that shows a larger conflict is coming closer. Finally, the last picture is a fiery red that screams terror and distress. The red color also symbolizes the anger that Ratchet now has to not let the villains take over the galaxy. Overall, Insomniac was successful in illustrating the character development and story of Ratchet. After all, I have been so attracted to the picture ever since I got the game that I had to write a TOW about it.

Tow #16 IRB: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach (Part 2)

While I was reading Stiff, I could not help but wonder the entire time what Roach was going to do with her body once she died. She discussed multiple options throughout the book and in the final chapter. Some of the options for human remains were the traditional burial or cremation, while others were less traditional such as plastination, donating the brain to a brain bank, or donating the skeleton and leaving the rest of the body to be boiled away. The ending of this book is the part that was the best. After explaining all of the amazing things that cadavers can do, Roach leaves the reader dying to know what she will do. In order to explain to her audience of what she is going to do with her body, she uses the same witty humor that was present throughout the entire book as well as clear explanations of the pros and cons of each choice. For example, in the last few paragraphs of the book, Roach weighs out the pros and cons of donating her body to science. She would love to donate her body to science, but her squeamish husband may not want that. Roach does not want to make her death worse for her husband to handle. Although she is unclear of exactly what will happen to her body once she dies, the way she explains her reasoning makes the ending not only satisfying, but also convincing to follow what she does. Ultimately, Roach thinks that it is up to the living to decide what should be done with her body. Because she uses logical reasoning and her signature humorous style, the ending is tied up smoothly leaving the reader completely satisfied with having read the book.

Tow #15: Article: "5 Tech Products That Will Be Dead in 5 Years" by Micah Singleton

Micah Singleton, a writer for Time Magezine, has written many articles about the future of technology in the Tech section of Time. In his latest, "5 Tech Products That Will Be Dead in 5 Years," Singleton claims that several products will quickly be replaced by products and services such as the smartphone and Netflix. The five products he specifically mentions will no longer be used or produced in five years are Blu-ray/DVD players, stand-alone in-car GPS units, Dial-up internet, low-end digital cameras, and physical car keys. Singleton uses statistics and historical examples of technology falling out of the market to explain to a skeptical, older audience that these five products will likely be gone in five years.  For example, to prove that smartphones will replace stand-alone GPS units, Singleton states that over 1.3 billion iPhones and Android smartphones have been sold around the world in about six years. All iPhones and Android smartphones come with GPS, so it has caused the sales of stand-alone GPS units to decrease 15-20% every year. By using statistics, Singleton appeals to logos and uses facts that can be easily verified, therefore strengthening his argument and making it more convincing. Also, the use of these statistics show that Singleton did his research and is credible. Along with using statistics to support his claim, Singleton also uses historical examples. These examples appeal to logos as well, but are likely used to convince an older person that technology products are replaced constantly, therefore the products that are widely used today will not be used at all in five years. Singleton briefly mentions the end of VCR to prove that blu-ray and DVD players will be replaced by something else (Netflix). Older people clearly remember the switch to DVD's from VCR, so they shouldn't be surprised that with new streaming technology on the rise, eventually DVD's will fall. Although many people will be uncomfortable with the changes, there will be changes because if enough people stop buying certain products, it would be foolish to keep making those products for the few people that refuse to change.

Tow #14: Article: "Jahi McMath, Alive in Social Media" by Meghan Daum

An author for the Los Angeles Times, Meghan Daum, has written many novels and essays on social and cultural issues. On December 31, 2013 she published an opinion piece about, Jahi McMath, a thirteen year-old girl who has been brain dead since December 12th, 2013. Daum believed that McMath should be taken off of the ventilator this is currently keeping her alive. In McMath's court case, the court decided to keep McMath on a ventilator until at least January 7th, 2014. The original deadline was December 30th, but the court ruled to extend it because the parents do not believe their child is dead and plan to airlift her to a hospital in New York. McMath became brain dead after undergoing a routine tonsillectomy and went into cardiac arrest. When a person is brain dead, all of their brain functions have completely stopped and it is irreversible. Nothing can make that person's brain function again. It is for this reason that McMath should be taken off the ventilator. The doctors have already done all that they can do and the girl's state has not changed. Although a routine procedure should never go as wrong as it went, nothing can change what has already happened to McMath. Some people argue that McMath needs to stay on the ventilator because she is "only brain dead" and the doctors are trying to kill her because they want her organs. However, being brain dead is not the same as a coma. When a person is in a coma, there is still brain activity. There is no activity in McMath's brain and to keep hoping for her to wake up is futile. It is a waste of the ventilator machine to keep McMath alive and should her parents chose to have her organs donated, they could be useful to someone who is dying. It is a tragedy that McMath became brain dead in a routine procedure and the doctors who made the mistake most certainly should have to pay for it, however now that McMath has been kept alive for almost a month by a machine, it is time to take her off of it.

Tow #13: Visual Text: Mandela Political Cartoon by Jack Ohman



When I was searching through political cartoons this week I found many that were in tribute to Nelson Mandela because of his death the week before. Of all the cartoons I saw, this one by Jack Ohman, the editorial cartoonist at The Sacramento Bee, stood out to me the most.  Ohman is a professional cartoonist whose work has been syndicated throughout the country to over three hundred newspapers including The Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and the New York Times. One of his most recent cartoons is the cartoon pictured above that sums up Nelson Mandela's life. Ohman uses powerful imagery and a quote from Mandela to show the American people that anything is possible and to pay tribute to Mandela. The picture in the cartoon that goes with the quote is a locked cuff and an unlocked one with a man, presumably Mandela, walking away from being freed. The image shows that Mandela was able to do the impossible and was freed from jail after being force to wrongfully serve twenty seven years in prison. By including this image, it shows that even if something seems impossible it still may be possible, because it seemed impossible that Mandela would be released from prison, but he ended up being released. Another reason why this political cartoon is powerful is because of the quote Ohman decided to use. It is short and simple, but pictured the largest because it is the most important part of the cartoon. The words came from Mandela himself, but it is the perfect quote for his tribute because it sums up his life. It seemed impossible that Mandela would be freed, but he was. It seemed impossible that South Africa would have a black president, but it happened. I think that Ohman successfully paid tribute to Mandela simply because this quote was such a smart one to use and the picture went perfectly with that quote.

Tow #12: Article: "Shameful Profiling of the Mentally Ill" by Andrew Solomon

Since the Progressive Era, the mentally ill have been discriminated against less and less due to reforms created by the government. However one problem still remains: border control of the mentally ill. Currently there is a law against allowing mentally ill people into America called the Immigration and Nationality Act, Section 212. It states that anyone with a mental or physical disorder that threatens the safety of Americans will be denied entry into the country. However, this law is too strict because people with a disorder as common and harmless as depression are getting denied entry into America. Andrew Solomon, author of Far From the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity, used the story of a woman who was hospitalized after attempting suicide in June of 2012 to argue against Section 212. Ellen Richardson, a Canadian, was not allowed to go to America because of her hospitalization from the year before. Because of this her Christmas vacation was ruined. Solomon mainly uses irrefutable facts and comparisons to prove to the American people that mentally ill people are still being discriminated against today. Solomon appeals to logos when he states the fact that people with a mental illness do not have have a higher rate of violence than people without a mental illness. This fact proves that Ms. Richardson should not have been denied entry. Also, this fact and many others Solomon included cannot be argued with because they are easily verifiable, therefore Solomon was able to successfully show that Section 212 may not be completely just. Solomon also compares this incident to when the United States denied entry into the country to people who were HIV positive. During the twenty years HIV positive people weren't allowed into America, potentially HIV positive people were not getting tested, so the country actually became sicker. Solomon claims that the same thing will happen if the President does not speak out against the Immigration and Nationality Act now. By comparing the current issue to an older one, Solomon attempted to show Americans that they cannot allow the country to make the same mistake again, therefore he successfully achieved his purpose.

Tow #11 IRB: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach (Part 1)

Mary Roach is a naturally curious woman that has written six books about different areas of nature, whether it was about the living or the dead. Stiff is the first book Roach wrote and it is about human bodies and what is done with them once they are dead. Although the book mainly addresses donation of the body to science, Roach also explains cremation and embalming all in graphic detail.  Roach is able to inform people interested in the subject with humor and comparisons of body parts to familiar items, most commonly food. For example, when describing what a brain looks like after three weeks of death, she says it "becomes like soup in there...chicken soup. It's yellow." Although comparing the cadavers to food may ruin that food for her audience, at least they can picture exactly what Roach was seeing at the time. The comparisons help the reader know exactly what the dead looks like, smells like, and even what the meat-eating bugs on the dead bodies sound like (Rice Krispies). In the first half of the book along with using humor, Roach is also uses a more serious tone. She makes it clear that dying is not funny and it is hard to deal with, yet it does not have to be boring. She acknowledges that her book may be controversial and that it is okay to disagree with her point of views. However, Roach makes her claim very clear by stating that it is "a shame to waste these powers, to not use them for the betterment of humankind" to not donate your body to science. By having a clear point of view, she is able to successfully support it in an unconventional way, which is through the use of humor. Overall I think she was successful in convincing people that her point of view is valid. She does not approach the subject of cadavers in a boring way, therefore I think that her audience will stay interested throughout the entire book and realize that they can do the amazing things that cadavers do once they are dead.